


temptation is so friendly

by thermocline



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Getting Together, Pre-Poly, Recreational Drug Use, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-31 23:50:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10909989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thermocline/pseuds/thermocline
Summary: “You must be Brandy,” Will says, a little later, shrugging her sweatshirt on. Saader packs up her stuff, and then the two of them are awkwardly shifting foot to foot, waiting for Alex to wrap up whatever e-mail she’s sending. “Nice to meet you. I’m guessing you haven’t met a sailor who turned you down for the sea?”“No?”Will shakes her head, looking down and smiling a little. “It’s a song. You know? It was in the new Guardians.”Saader twists her mouth and shakes her head no, a slight tilt to the movement. Oh well. “Can’t say it’s happened.”“Bummer, you are a pretty fine girl.”Saader’s face flushes.





	temptation is so friendly

**Author's Note:**

  * For [escherzo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/escherzo/gifts).



> Hi Chris. Everyone knows that I was writing this, except you. Which is good. At least you weren't spoiled.
> 
> Title is from "Teachers" by Young the Giant, in case I wasn't already transparent enough. Thanks to Hailey, Lily, crispierchip.... again, everyone. It takes a village. There's also a playlist for this fic.
> 
> Love you like hell, dude. Here's (some of) the femslash you deserve.

“She’s so fucking pretty,” Alex sobs emphatically, her can of hard lemonade still in her hand. “God, it’s not fair.” She sniffs and tilts her head back, the brim of her baseball cap knocking against the wall. Saader just nods, trying her hardest to be empathetic, and hesitates before she decides to bring her fingers down to rub over Alex’s wrist soothingly. She’s sitting on her free hand, the one not holding what must be her fourth drink of the night.

 

Saader loves being around Alex, but goddamn is she a weepy drunk.

 

“When’d you meet her?” Saader probes, voice just loud enough to carry over the heavy bass downstairs. In all honesty, Alex has been pining over a few girls that she just met lately. It’s hard to keep track. 

 

“Will’s in my - fucking - sociology 300 class,” Alex starts. Her eyes are rimmed with tears, wide and bright in the dim light. The reflective trim of the sports bra under her varsity tank flashes as she moves to push her hair back. “I met her the other day. Well, kinda met her. She said something like, crazy smart about lesbian media being obviously disjointed in its context when written by straight women, and my heart got turned on. My fucking heart. How pathetic is that.”

 

“So you haven’t actually met her.”

 

“No.” There’s a little huff in Alex’s voice. “But we did match on Tinder.”

 

“Oh, Jesus,” Brandy groans, and moves to get up from her spot on the floor. “Okay, you need to get up and move around if that’s all you’re freaking out about, no offense.”

 

“No, no, that’s not it,” Alex insists, grabbing at her arm to pull her back down. “I ran into her downstairs.”

 

“Oh!”

 

“She - god, okay, she was in this short dress, and she must be a gymnast or something, because her fucking thighs. Oh, god. Her ass is fantastic and I wanna kiss all over her, just fuck her up so  _ good _ \- “

 

“Alex,” Saader interjects, partially because she doesn’t have time to hear the play by play of how Alex wants to fuck Will, but also because she can feel herself getting warm, and her cheeks flushing, and were Alex any less drunk, she’d be asking questions. Saader tilts her chin, and Alex seems to get it after a second.

 

“Anyways, okay, so - I’m grabbing a drink, and I see Ryan, so I go over to talk to him, because I haven’t talked to him since sports marketing ended, and he turns around, and there he is, talking to Will! What if she’s -”

 

“Straight?” Saader picks up. She knows this situation, the iterations of it that become better described as she grew up. All she can do is frown sympathetically.

 

Alex nods sincerely. “She looked at me for a second, and she kinda gave this smile, and her eyes crinkled, and I just stood there and  _ stared  _ at her. How the fuck am I supposed to face her in class on Friday? I looked at her and she smiled at me and said ‘hey, you’re Alex, right?’ and I fucking said ‘NO!’ and then ran away. To here.”

 

“Jesus,” Saader mutters, patting Alex’s back awkwardly, and Alex hiccups. “That’s - not good.”

 

“What the fuck do I  _ do _ ?”

 

“Well, you’re gonna do exactly what you don’t want to.”

 

“What?” Alex’s eyes narrow. 

 

“You’re gonna go back to the dorms with me, down a full bottle of water, and give your number to Will on the way so that she can text you and you can apologize and start fresh -”

 

“I am absolutely not going to do that.”

 

“Yes,” she responds, standing up for real this time and stacking Alex’s can in her empty cup. “Yes, you absolutely are.”

 

“I fucking hate you,” Alex says, and Saader grins. Sophomore year, man.

 

\-----

 

Lunch, apparently, isn’t very important to Cam today.

 

“I’m trying to fucking  _ study _ ,” Saader manages, without sounding too bitchy. She isn’t afraid to be loud. It comes with the territory. 

 

“So are we,” Cam fires back. He’s got a textbook propped up on his boyfriend, who’s currently laying in his lap. Brandon Dubinsky is objectively the most difficult person to cohabitate with, considering he has the temper of a comic book villain and a horrible sense of just how much space his shit takes up. Unfortunately, thanks to the fact that he spends an average of two nights a week sleeping over in Cam’s bed, it kind of bleeds over into Saader and Cam’s room. Cam and Dubi and Alex all play on various hockey teams for the school - Cam and Dubi are hotshots, while Alex just prefers rec, so they tend to have good stories to tell. Overall, LGBT floors are great, except for - well, when your roommate has the messiest boyfriend known to mankind.

 

At least his beard looks okay, honestly. It’s not like he’s an eyesore.

 

“To be fair, you  _ were _ ,” Dubi adds, and Cam snorts in response, leaning down to kiss him upside-down. 

 

Saader chucks a jumbo-sized highlighter at where they’re pressed together, scowling. Thankfully, it hits dead center of her target.

 

“Fuck off,” Cam says, breaking out of the kiss. 

 

“Fuck outta my room,” Saader defends. “I was here first.”

 

“We have a common area,” Cam points out. “You could bother Alex. Joey’s off in Paris for film this semester, just in case you  _ forgot _ -”

 

Dubi cuts him off by stroking over the inside of Cam’s thigh. Cam squeaks, and Dubi grins slyly. “Cam’s gonna rim me as a reward for a good hockey game, if you really want to stay for the show -”

 

“Uh, ew. No thanks. Give me a few minutes.”

 

Stacking up her books and all the materials she could potentially need is an event in itself, but once she knocks on Alex’s door, Alex’s face goes from confused to fond. “Cam kicked you out for the boy, huh?”

 

“Yeah,” Saader sighs.

 

“Eh.” Alex shrugs. “I gotta study for econ. You’re welcome in here as long as I can DJ.”

 

“Fine with me,” Saader says, and just like that, they’re settled into a comfortable silence, existing in the same space with the same end goals.

 

As much as Alex and Brandy have their minor issues and differences, Brandy’s gotta hand it to her. She’s well dressed, mostly well spoken, athletic, and with a carefully polished Instagram page to boot. Alex’s curation skills could put a gallery docent’s to shame. Alex has been there for her on wasted nights when she forgot to grab a bottle of water, brought her gatorade and saltines when she was sick, and Brandy’s reciprocated in equal measure. It only seems fair. They aren’t the same size, but they still nab accessories and tech gear from each other sometimes, on the condition that it gets returned in the same condition it was taken. Alex is leaner, strong and tall like a soccer player, with her long blonde hair that she perpetually keeps tamed in a side braid. Brandy’s a bit more petite, bigger ass and broader shoulders, her waist nipping abruptly inwards. Between the two of them, people sooner assume that Saader plays hockey. Alex has joked about it quite a bit before.

 

The study session flies by, marked by Dubi cursing through the thin walls of the apartment and the occasional shout or giggle rising over the deep house music Alex is nodding along to. There’s flashcards all over Joey’s neatly made, long untouched bed, and the remnants of a large iced coffee on Alex’s dresser. It feels like home, really, and Brandy takes a second to just breathe, to let happiness of being settled in a sort of found family sink into her bones. Alex looks up and smiles, fist bumping Brandy across the room, and Brandy reciprocates with a grin.

 

\-----

 

“Do you have any  _ good _ weed, Saader?” Alex asks when Brandy swings open her door. She sighs.

 

“Like fuck am I going to tell you before you explain yourself,” Saader says, and crosses her arms decisively. Alex pouts. She’s good at using her looks to get what she wants, and Saader likes to joke that she could always model if the whole public relations and HR thing doesn’t work out.

 

“It’s about Will,” Alex says bluntly. She pauses and frowns a little. “You were at UChicago and you’re named after an alcoholic beverage. I just assumed you’d have the best ins, but if I was wrong -”

 

“Jesus Christ. Why do I even keep you around?”

 

“Because you love me,  _ Brandy _ ,” Alex says, hissing a little to draw out the pronunciation, flashing her perfectly white teeth. Ugh.

 

“Yeah, I do,” Saader grumbles. “Come on in, I guess.”

 

Saader’s room is a mess. Cam’s side is largely okay, save for Dubi’s stuff, organized chaos with everything in a relative space, but Brandy hasn’t really had time to clean up, like, at all. There’s gear everywhere from the gym, lab goggles on one of her closet hooks, bio notes all over her desk when she really should’ve been studying all this time, and so on and so forth. Alex seems to make herself right at home, jumping onto Saader’s bed and crossing her legs underneath her. 

 

“Get off of there,” Saader says as she rummages through her desk drawers. Where the hell is the box - no, that’s extra lube, that’s a headband, that’s god knows what -  _ there.  _ She emerges triumphant, opening the box to grab the ziploc bag with a few blunts and a lighter. “We aren’t smoking in here. You can tell me whatever’s up on the way to the park.”

 

“Fine,” Alex says, and gets up, assertively folding her arms. Her legs look nice, like the rest of her, really. Damn runners. 

 

They meander down to the garden next to Saader’s building, and Alex seems to relax incrementally the more they walk, but something still seems off to Saader. “What’s up?” 

 

“Will and I started texting,” Alex says, sitting on one of the picnic tables. It’s getting warmer now, consistent in the afternoons with the mornings and evenings still chilly. Sweatshirts and shorts weather. “And she asked if I wanted to go out sometime.”

 

“Oh shit!”

 

“Yeah!” Alex is blushing, glowing just a little. “So I keep meaning to ask her if she meant it as a date, but I don’t have the guts to.”

 

“Just text her back!” Saader says, squinting at Alex. Alex clearly isn’t satisfied with this solution.

 

“I’m waiting it out,” Alex says, matter-of-fact and patient. “Trust me.”

 

“There’s a difference between not seeming desperate and holding a healthy amount of communication,” Saader says, settling in on the edge of the table next to Alex. She flicks the lighter for the joint, and the air bursts with the initial puff of sweet smoke around them.

 

“I have a reputation to uphold,” Alex protests, irony dripping from her voice as she makes grabby hands for it. Saader pulls her hand back, giving Alex an unamused look.

 

“You’re going to text her, and ask her if it’s actually a date. And then you can take a hit. And we can talk about anything but this, if that’s what you want.”

 

Alex sighs, shoving the sleeves of her sweater up to her elbows. Her expression is truly exquisite, somewhere between  _ god, you’re the best  _ and  _ god, I fucking hate you _ . Saader’s more than familiar with it. Especially given that her name in Alex’s phone is just  _ brandy  _ with a liquor emoji, the sparkly heart, and a microscope.

 

(“Like you know anyone else named Brandy,” she’d said when Alex deemed their friendship worthy enough for the addition of the emojis. Alex glared at her, amused. “Like I’m gonna pass up the chance for the greatest contact emoji combination known to mankind,” she’d fired back, and okay, that’s only fair.)

 

She does text Will though, and it is, in fact, a date. Saader chalks it up to a win.

 

\-----

 

“Part time,” Alex says, and Saader snaps out of her daze. “Huh?”

 

“Will works here part time,” Alex adds patiently. “You were staring at her.”

 

“Oh,” Saader responds. She feels floaty, like her brain is detached from her body right now. The hum and grinding buzz of the coffee machines in the cafe is soothing, but it still seems too early to think. “She’s leaving to come to class with us at ten, yeah?”

 

“Of course,” Alex says drily, rolling her eyes. There’s little flowers embroidered above the adjustment strap of her snapback, a distinct morning softness in her face. The walk from their dorm to the coffeeshop is barely significant on the scale of the entire campus, but it seems like a marathon before nine in the morning. Blessedly, Saader’s humanities class is in the same building as Alex and Will’s shared literature seminar, and the walk isn’t far.

 

Apparently, Alex and Will’s first date went well, given that they’ve been on three dates since. Cam had deemed them an official item a few weeks ago. It’s been mostly uneventful since then, save for the sappiness and elation of finding footing in a new relationship. Will blushes when Alex calls her over to kiss her cheek as she buses tables. The work uniform isn’t much, just an apron over jeans and a t-shirt, but Will manages to look ethereal nonetheless. Her aesthetic contrasts Alex’s perfectly, soft versus sharp, breathy and relaxed compared to Alex’s coalesced cool. 

 

Will’s parents are both diplomats. Swedish, well-mannered, and fairly well-off. Out of state tuition is nothing to sneeze at. It’s understandable, anyone would want to get out of DC in a political climate like the current one, and Will’s found her own niche at OSU. With her commitment to experiencing the local arts scene, Will definitely keeps Alex busy. 

 

“Oh, hey,” Alex says when Saader yawns. “I still haven’t introduced you two properly, like, not unless you count me bringing her home the other night.”

 

“No,” Saader confirms. “That definitely doesn’t count as a proper meeting.”

 

Alex rolls her eyes and concedes. The conversation is easy for the next few minutes while Will wraps up the orders. Students filter in and out of the shop like the light through the front windows. It’s one of the nicer spots on campus. Saader likes to study here, especially mid-afternoons.

 

“You must be Brandy,” Will says, a little later, shrugging her sweatshirt on. Saader packs up her stuff, and then the two of them are awkwardly shifting foot to foot, waiting for Alex to wrap up whatever e-mail she’s sending. “Nice to meet you. I’m guessing you haven’t met a sailor who turned you down for the sea?”

 

“No?” 

 

Will shakes her head, looking down and smiling a little. “It’s a song. You know? It was in the new  _ Guardians. _ ”

 

Saader twists her mouth and shakes her head no, a slight tilt to the movement. Oh well. “Can’t say it’s happened.”

 

“Bummer, you are a pretty fine girl.”

 

Saader’s face flushes. “But I did get turned down by Larkin a while ago.”

 

“UMich superstar,” Will says, musing it over. Her eyes are really blue, Saader notices, and her heart jumps a little as Will scrutinizes her. “He’s friends with Dubinsky.”

 

“Really? How do you know Dubi?”

 

“Popular literature. He’s only taking the class because we spend three weeks on comics and art anthologies. Which are actually like, a really fucking important bridge between the upper-class inaccessibility of fine art and academia to the general population, so that the community isn’t as isolated.”

 

“Wow,” Saader breathes, because she has nothing better to say.

 

“Sorry,” Will says. “Special interest, you know?”

 

“For sure,” Saader says. “I’m the same way with prokaryotic cells.”

 

“Neat.” Will grins. “I can’t say staying up hyper-citing papers is quite as fun as lab work, but to each their own.”

 

Alex finally finishes packing up her laptop and joins them at the door. “We ready to go?” 

 

“You know it,” Will says, and Alex grins at her. It’s like a magnetic force pulls them together, Will’s lips softly giving way to Alex’s as they kiss, like watching a perfect movie scene not even three feet from her face. Something warm quivers in Saader’s stomach.

 

Will’s the first to pull away. Her eyes land immediately on Brandy’s slightly bewildered expression. “Let’s get on our way.”

 

“Yeah,” Saader says, shaky, forcing herself to smile. “Class.”

 

\-----

 

_ hey,  _ Alex texts, and then again, and again, and again.  _ what,  _ Saader responds, and Alex calls her.

 

“So remember how I did laundry and shit? The other day? And you were super happy about it?”

 

“Yeah?” 

 

“I forgot my hockey gloves, and also Will’s favorite underwear, and I’m already at the rink, and Will’s coming by with baked goods, and I can’t practice without gloves -”

 

“Fine,” Saader sighs. “What would you even do if I was scheduled to be at class during your practice time? You’ve literally forgotten something like, once a week.”

 

“I’m sorry!” Alex huffs. There’s the sound of a door opening and closing heavily, and then the ambiance of the rink, her voice filling the bellows of space. “Can you be over here in like, ten minutes on the shuttle?”

 

“Yeah, fine,” Saader concedes. “You’re buying lunch.”

 

“Deal,” Alex says. Someone addresses her, incomprehensible, on the other end. Saader rubs her eyes. “Look, I gotta go, I’m never gonna make it into my gear in time, and we only practice like, twice a week.”

 

She hangs up, and immediately after, Saader realizes that goddamn it, she doesn’t know what Will’s favorite underwear are. After a brief search, she guesses that they aren’t any of the athletic type ones, and might be the only purple lace pair, if she had to guess. Whatever. If she’s wrong, Alex can hand them off herself. 

 

The shuttle ride to the icehouse isn’t long. Alex is skating laps when Saader gets there, and Saader motions her over to the still-open section of the boards. 

 

“Here,” Saader says, unceremoniously handing over Alex’s gloves. Alex grins, slipping them on. Her face lights up behind the cage of her helmet. 

 

“You’re the best,” she says, tapping Saader’s shoulder and skating away. Saader catches herself smiling a little watching her go, the number seventeen on her back rippling as she speeds up towards her teammates.

 

“Hey,” a voice interjects next to her, and Saader jumps, startled. “Hey yourself.”

 

It’s Will, bundled up in a hoodie, looking both weary and totally put together. They watch Alex and the team skate for a little while, stepping back so that the captains can close off the boards for them to start drills. Alex is light on her feet, fast and a little uncoordinated, but she has an impressive amount of composure on the ice, especially given how quick she is. 

 

“So,” Saader starts, because she feels fucking awkward. “How’re things with you two?”

 

“They’re really good,” Will says, a smile playing at her lips. “The team’s winning, we seem to be off to a good start, and she’s a delight in the mornings.”

 

“Have you succeeded in waking her up without the help of an atomic bomb?”

 

“Nah,” Will admits. Saader can relate. On the rare occasion that she’s had to wake Alex up, it’s been a disaster. No nuclear meltdowns or anything, but she just - stays in bed, is hard to move, and groans a lot when you politely remind her that she has class in half an hour. Alex is also infamous among her three suitemates for muttering some not so nice things, and then plastering herself along their back later to beg for a bite of whatever they have for breakfast. Though, one time, Saader offered up one of her donuts, and Alex full on kissed her, so. 

 

(She hasn’t stopped thinking about it, especially when she isn’t sober, and it’s floating to the top of her head.)

 

“But,” Will adds, “it’s kind of cute.” She smiles at that, something to herself, and Brandy simultaneously wants to claw her face off out of this weird jealousy and laugh at her complete lack of understanding. “A lot of mornings, I get up first, and then I kiss her neck until she wakes up. And she’s so warm. She never sleeps with sweats on, just a t-shirt and underwear, so it’s like being hugged by a big blonde octopus.”

 

Brandy must make too much of a face at that. “Sorry that I keep leaving stuff in your bathroom,” Will continues hastily. “I’m usually not that messy.”

 

“It’s okay, honestly.” Saader sighs, feeling like she’s forgetting something. “Oh! Speaking of, Alex told me that you - left these.”

 

There’s only so much dignity that can be maintained when handing someone else back their underwear in a little bag.

 

Will goes a truly remarkable shade of pink. “Thanks,” she manages, and takes the bag quickly. 

 

Silence follows. The clean sound of skates cutting into the ice and the dull thud of pucks on the boards is relaxing, and Saader and Will move to sit in comfortable silence on the bleachers. It’s nice, just checking up on Instagram, reading the reviews for newly released movies, taking in practice and shoving her hands into her sleeves to keep them warm. She jabs Will in the side whenever Alex skates over or someone makes a good play, and it’s nice. The way Will laughs is cute.

 

After, Alex hits the showers, and Will fishes a clear container filled to bursting with cookies out of her bag, which, what the hell? Saader wants in on that. A few minutes later and Alex is clomping across the rink mats in her skates, tugging her jersey off, carrying her elbow pads and helmet in one hand. “Hi,” she murmurs, and Will meets her halfway, up one step on the bleachers so that they’re the same height and she can lick into Alex’s mouth properly. Saader feels like a bit of a creep, but the muscles of Alex’s shoulders and stomach are taut as the pulls Will closer and Will shrieks a little, protesting at how Alex is sweaty and gross, ew. The lines of their bodies meld perfectly, Alex’s ponytail falling over her shoulder, and she sticks her hands into the back of Will’s pockets, groping her a little.

 

“Um,” Saader interjects, clearing her throat. It comes out squeaky. Her voice cracks a little. “Maybe this isn’t the best place to be getting hot and heavy?”

 

Alex laughs, turning towards Brandy, and it’s bright, the corners of her eyes crinkling. Brandy’s seen the expression dozens of times before, but now, it makes something in her chest flip, like a little cartoon character running away and hiding with its hands over its eyes. “No, it isn’t, but later might be good.” She looks back at Will, raising her eyebrows. and the smile Will reciprocates is dazzling. 

 

“Ask me out properly, dumbass,” Will jokes. “And thank your roommate too.”

 

“Oh! Course,” Alex says, as if she didn’t even think of it. “You’re a fucking boss for making the trip down here.”

 

“Anytime,” Saader responds, drenching her voice in sweetness to cover the chasm that’s just ripped itself open in her chest. Alex pulls her in, hugging her tightly, and her hands feel - right. Strong. Safe. Sweaty.

 

Gross.

 

She’s fine.

 

“I’m gonna go to the gym later, okay?” Brandy says once they pull back. Alex’s face is really close. She’s breathing hard, still coming down from practice. Saader elects to ignore it, thanks.

 

“Sounds good. I’ll be in my room. If Will’s crying, it means things are going well.”

 

Fuck.

 

“Cool,” Saader says, and manages to play it cool while they walk home, opting to scream into her pillow like a grown-up once she gets back to her room.

 

\-----

 

It’s the rock and the hard place dilemma, comically so.

 

Cam came in at about midnight, laughing softly and hushing Dubi as he closed the door behind him. They like to think they’re subtle, between the two of them. That is a fucking lie. Cam’s bed is across the room, but it isn’t far, and there’s the unmistakable creaking of bedsprings as Dubi settles across Cam’s hips, the slick sounds of mouths meeting and the shallow breaths that Cam’s letting slip once they break away, the squelch of - well. Ew. 

 

Saader tries to close her eyes against it and rolls over towards the wall, as if that’ll make the two of them any quieter. Through the wall, someone’s moaning, soft but unmistakable, and that isn’t Alex’s voice, so. It must be Will. 

 

Good for Alex. She finally got her shit together.

 

If only it wasn’t at fucking twelve thirty in the morning.

 

\-----

 

Alex texts her a lot, is the thing. All about it; her worries about not being good enough for Will, her dumbfounded arousal when she sends  _ look at this she’s talking about how she wants to fuck me at summerfest _ , her soft fondness as she recounts all the little domestic things that Will does in the morning quiet of her dorm. Saader hears something new every day, and on the days when Alex is radio silent past just obligatory class updates or bureaucratic LGBT club business, she’s bound to bump into them somewhere. One day, Saader opens her door, slouched down into the soft fleece of her favorite sweater to combat the crisp spring mornings. She’s about to close her door behind her carelessly, yawning, when she notices something - someone - stir on the couch in the middle of the tiny common area.

 

In the silence of the morning, the sunlight bathing the couch in warmth, there’s a tiny sigh, and a mop of blonde hair catches the light as Will shifts, cheeks pink from laying on Alex’s chest. The comforter from Alex’s room is draped over them haphazardly, and Alex’s laptop is still open. They probably fell asleep together, in the middle of movie night, or maybe making out. 

 

Alex’s lashes are so long against her cheeks, chest rising and falling as she breathes.

 

Brandy’s frozen to the spot. She can’t bring herself to move. She shouldn’t be allowed to see this, but -

 

Will stirs again, eyes blinking open in surprise. She doesn’t move her head much, if at all, just glances around blearily until she sees Brandy and smiles softly. Her feet are sticking out of the blanket, arms around Alex, holding tightly. Something in Saader’s chest aches.

 

“Morning,” Will whispers, barely audible. Her voice is gentle, a little rough with sleep. “Sorry. We’ll be out of your way after you get back from class.”

 

“Don’t be sorry,” Brandy whispers, smiling back. Will’s eyes are very, very green - well, maybe blue, maybe grey, but - a piece of hair falls in her face, and she exhales to clear her line of vision. 

 

She’s beautiful.

 

“Get some rest,” Brandy adds, relaxing slightly, shifting her body more towards the door. “It looks like it was a late night.”

 

She leaves before she can say anything worse.

 

\-----

 

Here’s the thing: As Alex tells her more and more, Saader begins to fall in love with Will, too. Will is beautiful. She’s let Alex start co-parenting her succulent garden. She’s majoring in English literature with a concentration in queer studies, and writes juxtaposed scathing critiques and reverberating praises of music on the side as a contributor for the school’s newspaper. She’s passionate, and kind, and surprisingly intellectual, bitchy when she wants to be. She likes to rest her head in Alex’s lap, and Alex runs her fingers through Will’s hair, and Will just looks so fucking happy. 

 

Sometimes, Brandy lets herself think about it - Alex’s fingers, deft from years of rec hockey and running and rock climbing, combing through her hair, or tangled in the hem of her shirt, or on her jaw, or pushing up inside her perfectly, filthy and practiced, to find the one spot that feels bright and heavenly. She thinks about Alex’s laugh, or the way her abs tense up as she towels off her hair after a shower, breasts shamelessly on display, because according to Alex, who the fuck cares, anyways?

 

Saader cares. She cares about the way that she can’t help but look up nowadays. Her color coded bio notes, rife with detail and importance, aren’t as interesting as the conversation between Alex and Will that’s blocked out by her noise cancelling headphones. She cares about how she goes to parties and wallflowers and seems to be surrounded by love but never receiving, tapping her pencil on the page and hanging onto the glances Alex throws her as Alex pulls back from making out with Will on their couch, her lips red and bitten, her face a smirk, easy enough to be interpreted as an invitation. 

 

She’s mistaken friendly gestures as invitations, reasons to hope for inclusion, too many times before.

 

And Alex - Alex loves so openly, so fully, can crack a joke so quickly and see through someone’s bullshit even faster. Her strategy is brilliant, her talent is boundless, and Brandy isn’t - 

 

She’s not a homewrecker.

 

Will and Alex are perfectly happy. Who is she to be jealous of that?

 

\-----

 

“Come to lunch with me,” Cam says, jabbing Saader in the arm. “Just roomies. No Dubi. Promise.”

 

“Why?” Saader snaps. Going outside for more than just food or class in the last three days is a bit of a shock to her system, to say the least. 

 

Cam frowns, looking hurt. “I mean, if you don’t want to…”

 

“No, no.” Saader sighs. She takes a moment to even out her voice. “I’m sorry. Rough week. Why, do you want to talk about something?”

 

“I’m just worried about you,” Cam says, and sits back in the worn-out library chair. “You seem off, since Alex - yeah.”

 

“I don’t know,” Saader admits. Her chest aches. “It just sucks. You’ve got Dubi, Alex has Will, and I’m just - I’ve got my prokaryotes.” 

 

She tries not to laugh, hysterical and absolutely unprompted, and mostly succeeds. 

 

“You can’t get love from unicellular organisms,” Cam says softly, studying her face, and god damn it, he’s right. “They’re interesting. They’re worthy of appreciation. But they won’t love you back. Maybe the people who work with them will. But c’mon.”

 

Cam raises his eyebrows. Saader scrubs her hands over her face. Cam’s one of the gutsiest people Brandy’s had the pleasure of meeting. He came out before college started, pushed for a name change and started hormones just before he turned eighteen. He’s loud, he’s courageous, he’s aggressively confident in himself, and he’s wise beyond his years, protective of his friends.

 

It’s one thing to be afraid when people find out who you love, but another to be afraid when people catch your glance in a hallway.

 

Saader’s never met a person who let that stop them, though.

 

It’s quiet, the hush of conversation around them dimming out as Brandy turns the thought over in her head. Normally, she wouldn’t really be scared. She’s gotten good at going for what she wants. Without her self-advocacy, she probably wouldn’t have made it this far, let alone landed a spot in microbio research. But it’s one thing to manage yourself, and another to deal with those around you. It’s vulnerable. Unpredictable. And Brandy, well - 

 

“This sucks,” she says, blunt. A smile tugs at the corner of Cam’s mouth. 

 

“What sucks?”

 

“Alex and Will.”

 

“Why?” There’s the objective tone, the one that could convince Saader to part seas for Cam.

 

“I think I might love them,” Saader admits, quietly, and Cam thinks it over, doesn’t really respond past a sympathetic head tilt. Saader shrugs in response. “They’re happy together. It isn’t my place.”

 

“I don’t think that I can help you,” Cam responds, slow and careful. Saader slouches, letting the disappointment play across her face. “But I can tell you to quiet yourself and look. You know how to read people. You’re more intuitive than you give yourself credit for, and you’ve got a hell of a brain. You deserve love. Open yourself up to it, and leave the option open just in case.”

 

It’s silent between them for a second. Cam’s gaze is piercingly honest, and Saader shifts in her chair.

 

“You know, sometimes I feel like you’ve got some kind of magical wisdom I’ll probably come to discover like, three months after we’ve had a conversation.”

 

Cam laughs, running a hand through his hair. “It might be sooner than you think. With an ass like that -”

 

“I’m gonna stop you there,” Saader says, deadpan, and they dissolve into laughter. 

 

\-----

 

Saader generally hates waking up early - it’s a moral injustice, honestly - but the activities fair proves to be worth the struggle every year.

 

It’s not like sitting behind a table for an hour or two is the most exciting thing in the world. But this time around, the LGBT student alliance is next to the literary magazine. 

 

(“Taking a lot of L’s,” Dubi had said like a fucking pest. Cam smacked the back of his head. “Respect your fucking superiors,” he’d snarked back, and Dubi had countered how Cam isn’t like, his daddy or anything. Needless to say, it devolved quickly, and Dubi’s staying with the sports and school pride table.)

 

There’s a lot of formalities - greeting people, handing out information, exchanging contact info, knowing full well that half the people inquiring probably won’t seek them out any further. Someone did bring button makers though, so at least that’s attracting more visitors. Cam makes Dubi one that reads  _ noted boy kisser _ , and Dubi accepts it dispassionately, but agrees to wear it for the last hour of the fair. Alex laughs from the adjacent rec sports table, and takes a Snapchat to immortalize it. Her snapback matches her button that says EAT ME with two female symbols intertwined, which, all things considered, might be the best aesthetic choice she’s ever made. She popped over to kiss Will for a bit earlier, and it was cute, but - Saader feels a bit alone. It’s hard to imagine being as comfortable with PDA as the two of them are, even harder to imagine finding someone who she might fit with as well as Alex and Will - 

 

She could probably fit with them, at least - she fits well in her fantasies. 

 

No homewrecking.

 

Speaking of Will, every time she starts a conversation with someone who approaches her, Saader finds herself enthralled. Will seems to engage people and keep them interested, which is more that can be said of almost any other club representative. She speaks so fervently about the litmag’s mission, about the need for different points of view and appreciation for classical arts. Will even dressed up, which is stupidly endearing. Always putting her best foot forward.

 

The fair flies by, and then Saader’s off to grab dinner, picking up Will and Alex and Cam’s usual orders from the local dig that’s accessible by shuttle. They’ve had many a hungover lunch there, and even more “friend date” dinners. The wait staff knows them all by name.

 

It’s nice, on the ride back, a good ending to a good day as the sun starts to get low in the sky.

 

“Hey,” Saader says when she returns, swiping herself into their suite. Alex’s door was ajar, it’s probably fine. “I brought you food. Thanks for hanging out with me today -”

 

There’s a soft noise as Saader slips into the room, and then - oh.  _ Oh.  _

 

In the dim evening light, Will lays back on Alex’s bed, propped up on a pillow watching adoringly as Alex kisses her stomach, her thighs. Her t-shirt is rucked up around her stomach, her peaked nipples obvious through the thin fabric. She’s breathing shallow, hair fanned out around her on Alex’s pillow. One of her hands is on her stomach, the other is in Alex’s hair, and Saader can barely hear her breathe out  _ please  _ before Alex is finally exhaling and Will’s soft, soft thighs are tensing slightly as she gasps and Alex licks at her, broad and wet - her thighs are shiny when Alex pulls back, and how did Saader not  _ notice  _ that, oh, fuck - 

 

She brought them dinner, but it looks like Alex is eating Will instead.

 

“I should -” Saader starts, and Alex looks up, catching her gaze and smirking. Will blushes, but doesn’t move to cover up, just shifts so that she’s looking at Saader. Brandy doesn’t think she’s imagining how hungrily Will looks at her, her eyes dark, and Saader forgets how to fucking breathe. “Go,” she manages. “I brought you food, I’ll just leave it - in the common - okay, bye.”

 

The hand on Will’s stomach comes down to cover herself as she blushes; circles at her own clit, light and unimportant, a sort of afterthought. Alex grins at Brandy, and her lips are wet, her forearms tensed as she opens Will up. Fuck. “Thanks,” she says, unbothered, and Brandy shuts the door quickly, heart racing.

 

_ Stay out _ , she texts Cam.  _ Please, I mean it, I XXX it less.  _

 

_ Who is it?  _ Cam texts back, and Brandy sends back an unamused face.  _ Not now. ttyl _

 

The kitchen is bathed in a warm glow. Brandy reaches for the sticky notes, scribbling down something about post coital sustenance, and then wrinkles her nose, breathing deeply, staring at the weird blots of the ink where the marker bled through the Post-It paper.

 

In the room that isn’t her and Cam’s, there’s muffled conversation, and a laugh that tapers off into a moan.

 

Brandy leans on the counter and covers her face with her hands, forces herself to breathe in for four, out for six.

 

Yeah, fuck that.

 

Alex’s door is cracked open. Neither of their neighbors is playing music or anything. In fact, given that it’s a Saturday, there’s a good chance their floor is mostly deserted.

 

So she locks the door to the dorm and keeps her door cracked as well, laying back on her bed and grabbing her vibrator from her side drawer.

 

It’s not like - she’s not reading into it. Will looked at her, and kept going. Alex made eye contact. She left her door open. She usually isn’t this exhibitionist, so, unless Saader is just hoping for too much, there isn’t another explanation except that they wanted Saader to see.

 

Her body feels hot all over. Her heartbeat is in her ears. 

 

Across the short hallway, Will is whimpering softly, little chants of Alex’s name in a watery voice. Is Alex - that good? Holy fuck, is Will crying?

 

She’s definitely going to hell.

 

Saader pulls her t-shirt up and off, spreading out across her covers, letting her legs fall open, grinding up against her palm. 

 

Alex says something unintelligible that makes Will choke on a breath, and Saader inhales sharply. Her breasts ache, and she’s so aroused it’s visceral, consuming her whole. 

 

“Fuck,” Saader breathes, flipping the vibrator on, lighting her body up and biting down hard on the soft skin of her upper arm to muffle her noises halfheartedly. “Oh, oh, jesus -”

 

She comes harder than she has in weeks, crying for Will and Alex, slick all over her thighs and the sheets underneath her as their noises filter in from across the hall.

 

\-----

  
  


A week passes without so much as an acknowledgement, save for the way that Will blushes whenever Brandy meets her gaze for too long, which is both adorable and infuriating. Cam shoots her too many sympathetic looks - he’d figured out what had happened pretty quickly, and has tried to corner Saader to talk about it, but she just - can’t.

 

On top of the guilt of getting off listening to her roommates, there’s the feeling of intruding on Will and Alex’s relationship, and the pressure of midterms bearing heavy in her mind, the pages of scribbled data that she still hasn’t integrated into a lab report. Invitations to building-wide events from the RA pile up in her email, slid under her door, and eventually, Cam just starts stacking them on her desk.

 

They don’t talk about it. Cam doesn’t push. He’s really too good for Brandy to ever deserve.

 

Will and Alex text her sullenly, sad face emojis and questions of whether she’ll come out with them. Saader responds, because she isn’t some kind of gremlin, but sometimes she’s tempted to leave them on read, just to make a point. The irrational anger at herself for getting in the way of her friends’ happiness doesn’t need to be taken out on them. That isn’t fair.

 

Content to sleep and work and keep to herself, Saader stays quiet, and then, one morning while she’s walking to the rec center for yoga, she gets a new group message from Cam.

 

_ Hey all! Team got skating passes, free skate 2night? _

 

Saader squints at the list of contacts in the group. Cam, Dubi, Will, Alex, and her.

 

_ sorry, but idk how to skate,  _ she replies, moving to roll out her yoga mat and sit down, crossing her legs. 

 

_ That’s ok!!!!!  _ Alex texts almost immediately.  _ Me + Will can totally hold ur hands!! _

 

Brandy sighs. Her throat tightens, as if she’s about to cry.

 

She doesn’t respond until after class, but ultimately decides, with Cam’s persuading, that she should go out with them tonight. It’s not the worst thing. If it’s bad, she can always go crash at the library. She has the excuse of midterms.

 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she’s always considering how Alex looks at her, or how Cam seems so comfortable with Dubi, or how her lab partner seems to be able to greet their significant other so easily with a kiss. Saader thinks about how she’d approached Larkin a while ago when the Michigan boys were in town and played the OSU team, and how she’d pulled him close, arousal fluttering in her stomach as he kissed her, only to have him pull back, pull his fingers off of her hips and thighs and help her off the table, and hastily apologize.  _ I’m sorry, I should go find Zach and ask,  _ he’d said, hazy, curls falling in his eyes. He didn’t have to add a descriptor. Whoever Zach was, he was significant. A boyfriend, probably.

 

Dubi laughed at her, after, when she meshed back into the party, doing body shots off of his teammate. This isn’t like you, he said with a smirk, as if he could tell something was up. Cam looked at Saader as Dubi spoke, listing into Dubi’s side, and something hot and angry had curled in her stomach. 

 

_ Fuck you _ , she’d responded, and left to go make out with some junior named Seth who she’d seen a few times before in her enviro lecture, not even considering the consequences.

 

The point is - she’s got a history of rash judgement, especially when feelings of estrangement among hordes of happy couples are involved. The silence of the shuttle bus, rain hitting the windows, doesn’t help with the emptiness in her chest, the restlessness of her hands. She’s mostly on autopilot, picking up the passes that had been set aside for her, then getting her skates on, so it takes her a while to realize that Cam isn’t there when she steps onto the ice.

 

Cam and Dubi are already god knows where, but certainly not in the bleachers, and not by the benches either.

 

Huh.

 

“Hey!” Alex says, once she catches sight of Saader. Anxiety clutches her stomach. “There you are! C’mon, let’s get a few laps in before they take a break to resurface the ice.”

 

“Okay,” Saader manages, and smiles when Will snowplows to a stop next to them. Her cheeks are pink from the cold. 

 

“Here,” Alex says, holding out a hand, and Brandy, against her better judgement, takes it, trying her hardest not to stumble. Will reaches out to catch her other elbow and steady Brandy on her feet, and then they’re off, Brandy more following their momentum than anything else. Will laughs when Alex tries to spin around like a figure skater and fails badly, and Alex responds by hip checking her. The hockey skates do look a bit weird on Alex when she’s not in gear, like a puppy whose feet are too big, but it’s endearing.

 

It’s easy, skating with Will and Alex. They cheer loudly when Brandy makes it around the rink once on her own, catching her by the hips to slow her down when she gets a bit too enthusiastic. Cam and Dubi fly by them at one point, clearly in a heated competition - whether it’s a race or a bodycheck contest Saader can’t tell - and the three of them watch Dubi go ass first into the boards as Cam laughs, his hands on his knees. Will skates over to help Dubi up, bless her heart, though he’s glowering too much for either Saader and Alex to want to take that chance.

 

“Hey,” Alex says, leaning against the boards as the two of them watch Will mediate as Cam and Dubi bicker about whose fault it was. “I keep meaning to give you something.”

 

“Oh?” Saader watches, grinning and still breathing a little hard from the thrill of it all. “What’s that?”

 

All at once, Alex is in her space, pivoting on her skates to box Brandy in. Brandy has to look up to meet her searching gaze. Alex’s breath fans across her cheeks and nose, and her eyes are so fucking blue.

 

“This,” she says quietly, and leans in to kiss Brandy, one hand coming up to rest on her jaw.

 

Time stops, and all that Brandy knows is the soft press of Alex’s lips, the pressure of her fingers over Brandy’s pulse, the flitter of eyelashes against her cheek.

 

Then it catches up to her.

 

“Fuck,” she exclaims, softly, pushing Alex back, and Alex stumbles. Her eyes are wide. “No, I can’t, you and Will -”

 

Her breath comes faster, and the panic rises to a crescendo when Alex’s eyes narrow a little.

 

“What do you mean?” Alex says, soft, vulnerable, and Saader feels like the world’s biggest asshole.

 

“I can’t get in the way,” she chokes out, and this is not the time to be crying, fuck.

 

Will skates up to them, stopping abruptly when she sees Saader’s face. “You okay?”

 

“Your girlfriend kissed me,” Saader gets out, feeling horrible, guilty and bad and wrong, and Will just -

 

Smiles?

 

“I know,” Will says. 

 

“I can’t,” Saader manages, quiet. “Don’t fuck with me like this.”

 

“We -” Alex starts, and Saader can’t take it, feels anxious enough to puke. 

 

“I need to go,” she whispers, and beelines for the exit in the boards, catching herself on the edge of the boards and hurrying to the lockers. 

 

\-----

 

“Brandy?” Will asks softly as she opens the door. “You okay?”

 

Saader’s curled up on the couch, her duvet wrapped around her, hunched into it. She didn’t put a light on except for the one in the kitchen of the apartment, and the glow of her phone screen isn’t enough to illuminate Will’s face when she turns around. 

 

Saader shakes her head. Sniffling is too undignified to describe what noise she makes in response, but it’s pretty close.

 

“I’m really sorry,” Will says, closing the door gently, toeing off her shoes. She crosses the entryway, curls up next to Saader on the couch. “That wasn’t planned well.”

 

“How?” 

 

Will’s face is inviting in this light, trustworthy, so to speak. Her eyes flit over Saader’s face, and it’s sincere, honest. It isn’t really possible for her to hide how she’s feeling. 

 

“Me and Alex talked about inviting you into the relationship,” Will responds, and - what?

 

Brandy’s eyebrows scrunch, questioning.

 

“It was wrong for us to assume that you would want that,” Will continues, arms crossed over her chest. “You just seemed skittish lately, since we started being more obvious about it, and we figured we’d just keep being really forward, but - I don’t know. I’m sorry that we pushed.”

 

“Oh,” Brandy says, small. “I just - didn’t think I should be treading on your space.”

 

“Oh, Saader,” Will apologizes. “We should’ve just told you. I’m sorry that we fucked this up so bad. Do you want me to tell Alex, or do you want to tell her, or -”

 

“I still want to give you a chance,” Brandy adds hastily. “I just - don’t know - yeah.”

 

Will smiles, slow and brilliant. “Yeah?”

 

“You two are beautiful,” Brandy admits, blushing. “And you’re so open in how you love, and you care so much about each other, and I just admired from afar, I think. Adjusted myself into not wanting both of you, because I was so sure.”

 

Will studies her for a second. “I hope you know,” she starts. “You are so worthy of love. I don’t know how we couldn’t love you.”

 

Brandy exhales. Silent tears start welling up and spilling over, falling down off her chin. “I’m sorry for avoiding you guys,” Saader responds. She doesn’t know what else to say. “I was scared.”

 

“Hey, I know. It’s okay.” Will’s voice is reassuring. She patiently helps Saader unwind the duvet and snuggles into it. 

 

This time, Brandy’s the one who initiates the kiss.

 

\-----

 

“Did you know how fucking pretty you are?” Alex says, cuddling up behind Brandy. Will’s in front of her, hands on Brandy’s hips, smiling at her. Brandy fumbles with her solo cup, the music swirling around her. 

 

“Are you gonna say that it isn’t fair next?” Will asks Alex over Brandy’s shoulder, kissing softly at her neck. Saader’s knees suddenly feel a bit unstable. 

 

“Ruined it,” Alex responds, and leans forward, meeting Will halfway. The three of them are tucked into the corner of the living area at Dubi’s friend’s frat house, the site of this weekend’s sports party. There’s some god awful trap music playing, but even now, it sounds appealing. Will hums into Alex’s mouth, and the sound reverberates through Saader’s ear, through her throat, into her chest. She can imagine kissing Alex, the way Alex likes to press a hand to her and make her squirm and arch up against Alex’s body. Alex is almost always on top. She’s always nimble, likes the control, and she knows how to unravel Brandy perfectly with just grinding while Will sits behind her, playing with Brandy’s curls and murmuring to her - 

 

Will pushes a thigh tentatively between Brandy’s legs, pressing up against her cunt, never breaking away from Alex, and Brandy moans.

 

The slick sound of Alex and Will pulling away processes slowly. She’s a little tipsy, warm affection flooding her body, and the hands all over her feel sublime. “Fuck me,” she whispers, and Alex and Will are close enough to her mouth that they hear. Will immediately moves to kiss her. Alex sucks a hickey into the back of her neck, and it stings, just a little, but not enough, not like the sensitive skin on her breasts or thighs would. She makes a mental note to ask, later.

 

“Where?” Alex hums, low and tempting. “Here? In the kitchen?”

 

Brandy whines again. As much as she’d like to, the entirety of the varsity hockey team is here, and probably some of the club players and other athletes too. “No,” she manages. “Just - fuck, please.”

 

“Go upstairs,” Alex says, pulling away, smoothing her hands over Brandy’s ass. “I’ll let Dubi know we’re using his room.”

 

It feels illicit in a thrilling kind of way - the three of them barely know Dubi’s roommate, and the few times they’ve had the time and space to fool around, Brandy’s found out that by some sort of blessed statistical anomaly, both her and Will are squirters. Cleanup sucks. Will grabs a towel from the bathroom on the way, and lays it down on the burgundy sheets the second they get into the room. Thank god Dubi’s side of the room is instantly recognizable, and thank god he gets a full sized bed as part of the hockey house.

 

“We owe him,” Brandy says absentmindedly, and Will laughs, stepping forward and forcing Brandy backwards until her knees hit the edge of the bed. Brandy locks eyes with Will before stripping her shirt off, careful and efficient. 

 

Will gasps.

 

“Fuck, come  _ here _ ,” Brandy manages, voice strained. Will climbs into her lap and kisses her soundly, a mess of lips and tongue and teeth that has both of them whimpering. Will takes Saader’s bottom lip between her teeth and sucks hard, and Saader chokes on a noise far too loud for the current situation, pulling Will down with her. 

 

“Christ, you look so good,” Will says, sitting up, thighs squeezing Saader’s hips as she takes the sight of her in. Brandy pushes her fingertips under the hem of Will’s shirt, pinching at one of her nipples in a wordless question, and Will strips, looking down with dark eyes. Saader helps her out of her bra, and then it’s just Will, gorgeous and thin-framed and soft everywhere with delicate breasts that Brandy just wants to suck and bite at until Will is crying. Will tips forward to kiss Saader, but Saader grabs her ass and shifts her slightly until Will falls forwards, one hand braced on the wall.

 

Brandy cranes her neck up, laving over one of Will’s tits, sucking at the top of the soft flesh, just above her areola, until there’s a nice bruise forming. Will shakes a little when Brandy bites down on her skin, head falling forward. 

 

“Oh,” she breathes. “Saader, jesus.”

 

Brandy takes it as a green light and reaches up to pinch over the fresh bruise before nipping a few more, almost like a crown, on the other side of Will’s chest. Will moans, then cautiously pulls away, shifting down Saader’s torso until her cunt is closer to Saader’s hips. Her breath is fast and shallow, and she hasn’t even been fingered yet.

 

Will’s hot where she’s pressed to Brandy’s skin, and she leans down to lick into Brandy’s mouth, propping herself up on one elbow while her other hand comes to rest on Brandy’s jaw. Brandy squirms under the attention, foot kicking out of its own accord when Will reaches down to slide a hand into Saader’s pants, rubbing over her. “Off,” she mutters, and Saader can’t argue with that. 

 

Will stands for a moment so that she can strip as well, and with a quick lift of Saader’s hips, both of them are naked. Saader feels a bit vulnerable and jittery - Will’s looking at her with this intense affection, this unyielding lust that reads  _ I want to eat you alive _ . 

 

“Come back,” Brandy whines, belligerent, and Will grins, climbing back on top of her. A few seconds into the next kiss, her eyes closed, Brandy feels more than hears Will shift on top of her, and then there are two fingers pressing at her opening, where she’s already soaked.

 

Every sense feels heightened. Will’s fingers are a little cold, a blunt pressure that gives way to  _ oh god  _ and  _ so good _ . The bass of the music downstairs thumps loudly in time with the beat of her heart, and Will brings a thumb down to circle Brandy’s clit, making her break apart for a long, shaky exhale. She can smell Will, where she’s smearing her slick all over Saader’s stomach, and it’s too much, it isn’t nearly enough.

 

The door opens, just a crack - there isn’t the sound of the creaky hinge swinging.

 

“Fuck,” Alex exclaims. 

 

Brandy opens her eyes, and Alex looks absolutely shocked, meeting her gaze.

 

“Haven’t gotten any in a while, hm?” Will asks, and Saader really doesn’t know if she’s oblivious or just choosing to ignore Alex finally joining them, watching. “You’re so fucking loose for me, babe.”

 

Saader whines, this tiny noise that makes Alex inhale sharply and cross over to the bed.

 

“You two,” Alex says, “are going to be the absolute death of me.”

 

Brandy feels so fucking exposed. Her breasts are slightly spread across her chest thanks to the gravity, the curve of where her hips meet her thighs especially pronounced with her feet propped flat on the bed. Alex traces a finger over the line where ass meets thigh, a barely-there touch, and Saader's so wet, she's so turned on it aches her ribs and breasts and throat.

 

“Please, please,” Brandy whispers, and then Alex is pulling back, and her shirt’s coming off, then her pants, muscles clenching as she throws her clothes to the side. Infuriatingly, Alex just stays still, keeps watching, kneeling by the side of the bed. 

 

Will bites down hard at the hollow in the center of Brandy’s collarbone, and Brandy’s eyes squeeze shut again. Alex’s hands are on the inside of her thighs, and the bed dips as Alex settles her weight between Brandy’s legs. She must just be watching over Will’s shoulder. 

 

“So pretty,” Will says softly, pressing her fingers up, up, up, and Brandy arches off the bed. Then, all at once, she’s withdrawing, pulling back slightly from the kiss, and her fingers come up to probe at Brandy’s lips. Brandy obliges, and the sharp, heady taste of herself fills her mouth, leaving no room for any other thought. Will curses softly, watching, and then all of a sudden, Alex bends over to get her mouth on Brandy, and Brandy - yells.

 

On instinct, she moves to close her legs, the stimulation too intense all at once. But Alex gently presses her thighs apart and kisses softly over Saader’s clit.

 

Will’s kissing her again, and Alex is humming against her, and she’s crying, she’s crying,  _ holy fuck _ , it feels so good. Alex sucks on her, a little, dipping her tongue into Brandy’s folds to taste her all at once before fucking her tongue into her.

 

“I’m gonna come,” Brandy manages, shaking a little, eyes squeezed shut, damp with tears. “Alex, Alex, _Will_ -”

 

Will reaches down to sweep Saader’s hair off her sweaty forehead, murmuring about how good Brandy must taste on Alex’s tongue, and just like that, she’s gone.

 

It’s a burst of bright, Alex’s tongue on her cunt, and then her hands are tightening on Will’s arms, and she’s near screaming, bass heavy in her ears, nerves singing in her legs and stomach and toes, the whole world whiting out as she comes and comes and comes.

 

“Stop,” Brandy manages, wet and broken, once the aftershocks have rolled through her. “Too much, ah -”

 

“Okay,” Alex soothes, pulling away, kissing the inside of Brandy’s thighs, pressing gentle hands to her hips to ground her. When Brandy focuses, opening her eyes, she catches sight of Alex’s shining face, Alex’s smirk as she wipes her chin with the back of her hand. “God, that was so hot.”

 

“Yeah?” Brandy says, shifting so that she’s sitting up a little, Will in her lap. She meets Alex’s eyes and Alex nods, kissing the back of Will’s neck. “I think it’s Will’s turn,” Brandy adds, and Will moans quietly, hiding her face in the crook of Brandy’s shoulder. 

 

Between the two of them, Saader moving to circle Will’s clit and Alex working her fingers into her, it takes a bit of effort to coordinate their motions. It’s worth it, though, once they start getting it right. Will rocks back and forth between them, reaching behind her to dig her nails into Alex’s thigh, fucking herself just a little more on their fingers. Before long, she’s almost there.

 

“C’mon,” Brandy coaxes, changing her touches a little. “We wanna make you feel good,” she breathes against Will’s ear, and a few seconds later, Will’s coming too, soaking Brandy and Alex’s palms. She seems to like a little bit more overstimulation, hips twitching slightly when Alex finally pulls out of her.

 

Alex lays back next, against the headboard, legs spread in invitation. Will and Brandy sit in front of her, and Brandy leans in a little hesitantly to kiss Will. Soon the kiss deepens, their breath hot across the small space between the three of them, and Alex groans, sliding a hand down to touch herself. The urgency of her whimpers overtakes how good Will feels pressed against Brandy, and eventually, Brandy is the first to break.

 

“Can I?” she asks softly, and Alex nods, wiggling a little as Brandy moves down the bed, kissing the bottom of Alex’s stomach. The tang of her scent cuts through Brandy’s senses as she licks around where Alex is touching herself, nipping her fingers a little, and Alex makes a strangled noise.

 

The bedframe creaks a little, and when she looks up, Will is pressed to Alex’s side, sucking bruises her neck. What she’s whispering into Alex’s neck, Brandy doesn’t know, but it seems to be working, given the frantic pace at which she’s twisting her clit between her fingertips.

 

Brandy hasn’t really seen Alex look this unhinged, really. It feels odd. She’s so carefully controlled a lot of the time, in how she presents herself, how she reacts to everything but Brandy and Will, it seems.

 

“Oh,” Alex sighs when Brandy presses the flat of her tongue to Alex’s cunt, and then she’s shuddering through her orgasm, soft and sweet.

 

The two of them did that. 

 

Brandy grins up at her dopily as Will lays a hand over where she’s holding onto Alex’s thigh. She’s struck by this wave of adoration so strong that she just has to press her face to Alex’s stomach, Alex’s fingers combing through her hair as they all come down.

 

Maybe none of them knew they could love two others all at once so consumingly, that two others is the perfect balance, the right amount of recipients for the amount of love they have to give.

 

Brandy’s always loved deeply, as unyielding as the sea.

 

“Hey,” she says quietly, and the corner of Alex’s mouth quirks up. “Wanna go home?”

 

“Yeah,” Alex says, and Will makes a hum of agreement. “Toss the towel in the laundry and never tell Dubi about this?”

 

“Stop killing the vibe,” Will complains. “He fucked Cam in Saader’s bed once, right? He can shove it.”

 

“WHAT?!”

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Somehow, Will looks equally bemused and exhausted. “Let’s push the beds together and cuddle for a while?”

 

“Okay.” Brandy sighs, and Will smiles a little, Alex holding both of them close. “Yeah. Let’s do that. After we get dressed again. Then walk back. Then shower.”

 

Alex rolls her eyes, but Brandy can live with this.

 

They both can.


End file.
